Economic modernization and political liberalization since the early 1980's has caused dramatic changes in Chinese society. Chinese police, like the society within which they operate, are experiencing slow but fundamental change. Yet China remains a one-party Communist state and all the reforms and changes are occurring within that larger political structure. The police are coping with the shift from revolution to modernization and redefining their roles in a new political economy. The paper describes control of the police today as less political than before. As China moves away from the radical political context, policing has shifted from suppression to accommodation. After decades of dictatorship, the priority of policing is now conventional crime control and police modernization. Policing control is more external and is increasingly imposed on the community. The traditional community policing no longer exists, police and public relations are more estranged, and the police have lost their power to motivate and to normalize. Police professionalism in China symbolizes the transformation from control of mind to control of body, resulting in the weakening of control itself and the decline of the authority of the police. The paper concludes that, as the police become more professional, technical, and geared more to law enforcement, the future relationship between police and community will be more like that between consumers and service providers. Tables, references, notes